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Pauley Perrette's Alleged Attacker Charged, Could Face Four Years in Prison

By Alex Ungerman 12:53 PM PST, November 16, 2015

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The transient man who allegedly attackedNCIS star Pauley Perrette last week has been charged, ET can confirm.

David Merck was charged with attacking and threatening the 46-year-old actress, and could face up to four years in prison if convicted.

"Merck allegedly grabbed the actress, one of the stars on NCIS, punched her and threatened to kill her before running off," a representative from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said on Monday. "He was arrested about an hour later. He is charged with one felony count each of making a criminal threat and false imprisonment by violence."

"He told me he was going to kill me several times and I absolutely believed him," she recalled. "I prayed as hard as I've ever prayed for anything ever in my life, and I didn't do anything. I thought, anything I do would escalate the situation -- I couldn't overcome him, he was stronger than me."

"I took a pen and I immediately, in shock, like drew a picture of the guy, 'cause I didn't have a camera," Pauley added. "The guy looks exactly like the thing that I drew."

Meanwhile, Paulie was spotted going to church on Sunday. An eyewitness at the Hollywood United Methodist Church told ET that the actress was in "good spirits," and the pastor directly addressed the incident, saying, "When Pauley was telling her story to the media on Friday, first by proclaiming herself as a person of faith. ...Second, she proclaimed her forgiveness for the man who assaulted her. And third, she not only called attention to the critical need for mental health services in our country but especially here in Hollywood."